Austin's Olivia Among Bon Appetit's Top 10 Best New Restaurants in America

Photo courtesy Olivia

The annual list, which is published in this month's Restaurant Issue and already available online, chose places that “represent the new standard: simple, satisfying local food—all served with zero pretense." Olivia, the brainchild of husband-and-wife team James and Cristina Holmes, was cited for its "riffs on comfort-food classics":

There's only one thing on the walls of Olivia: a Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings concert poster that chef James Holmes's grandfather gave to him. The image—two groundbreaking country music legends from Texas—captures the spirit of this sophisticated yet laid-back spot. The restaurant's clean art-gallery-esque interior really shows off the poster—and Chef Holmes's food. He gathers his culinary inspiration from (and in) his backyard vegetable garden. The resulting menu includes produce-based dishes like risotto made with squash and greens, and spinach-potato gnocchi with olives and tomatoes. Holmes is also fond of riffs on comfort-food classics, like spaghetti cooked in red wine and the milk-braised pork shoulder here. The diverse clientele—a tattooed musician on his way to a show or an operagoer dressed to the nines—only adds to Olivia's considerable charm.

Other restaurants on the list include Houston's Feast, Bar Jules in San Francisco, and No. 7 in Brooklyn. As part of the recognition, the chefs of Olivia shared with Bon Appetit their recipe for Milk-Braised Pork Shoulder with Semolina Gnocchi, which you can check out for yourself.